Naruto: Exile
by Venomhand
Summary: Continuing from Ch. 449, Danzo has taken control of Konoha and Tsunade is forced to flee. Naruto goes along to help her recover and retake Konoha. Only Naruhina at the moment. Ch. 12 is now up.
1. Flight of the Slug

**Hello, this fic is my own continuation of chapter 449 of Naruto. That's it, really. I should warn you though. I've been keeping track of the story via the wiki, so some stuff may not be accurate. Anyway, on with the show.**

Naruto: Exile.

**Chapter 1: Flight of the Slug.**

The moment Naruto stepped into the village of Konoha, the villagers swarmed him, congratulating him on defeating Pain, patting him on the back, wondering about the bouquet of roses he has. However, an ANBU came up, telling Naruto that Tsunade wants to see him. When they reached the hospital, Naruto headed for her room.

"Hey Baa-" He started, but when he saw Tsunade's state, he stopped. "-Chan?"

"Naruto, I told you not to call me that." She said weakly.

"What happened?" Naruto asked. Tsunade was lying in bed, her appearance matching that of an old lady, something she would never choose.

"I used a lot of chakra and strained myself. It will take a few weeks for me to recover." Tsunade explained. Then, she turned her attention to the roses in Naruto's hand. "Now then Naruto, where did you get the roses?"

Naruto explained how he got them.

"I see." Said Tsunade. "Naruto, due to the events that have happened, I am going to circumvent normal procedures and promote you to Jonin."

Naruto looked like he would jump out of his skin, but instead he just nodded and said, "Thank you."

Tsunade looked surprised for a brief second before continuing. "Now then, I would like you to help out with rebuilding the village."

Naruto nodded, and left the room as Shizune walked in.

"He's definitely matured, Shizune." Tsunade said to her assistant. Shizune would have responded, if not for:

"**YEAH!"**

". . .Well, at least he waited until he was outside." Said Tsunade.

"It has been decided," Danzo stated to Homura and Koharu, "That now is the time to act."

"And if it doesn't work?" Homura asked. Danzo smirked.

"I have a backup plan."

Tsunade had been reading the reports involving Pain's attack, but the moment she came across the report mentioning that Shizune had died, stared at that part in shock, eyes widened at the realization. When the report slipped from her fingers, Shizune looked worried.

"Tsunade-sama?" She asked. No response from the Slug Sannin.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked again. When she got no response, she knelt down next to the bed.

"Tsunade?"

Suddenly, Tsunade wrapped her arms around Shizune, tears running down her cheeks.

"Why-" Shizune started, but when her eyes turned to the report on the bed, and what Pain's Human Path did to her, she wrapped her arms around her sensei.

"I thought I lost you." Tsunade said in a whisper. While she wouldn't admit it, she had come to think of Shizune like a daughter. Guess that was one other thing she would have to thank Naruto for.

"I'm sorry Tsunade-sama, I-"

"Don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault."

The embrace lasted for few more minutes, because Danzo, Ruiner of Heartwarming Moments, was outside. Dismissing the ANBU outside her room, the Elder entered, flanked by two ninja from ROOT.

"Hello Tsunade." Danzo greeted, bowing politely.

"Danzo, I'm busy reading these reports." Tsunade answered. She was reading the report while Shizune stood nearby. "What do you want?"

"Tsunade, since you are not well," Danzo explained, "The council has decided that since you are not healthy enough to lead, I am to succeed you as 6th Hokage."

"Danzo, I am clearly awake and able to lead," Tsunade responded sternly. "Why would the council decide on a new Hokage already?"

"I told them that they were making a mistake." Danzo replied. "But there is some bad news though."

Tsunade and Shizune looked at each other for a brief second before turning back to Danzo. Something wasn't right.

"Two shinobi were found dead recently, and they were identified as Lady Tsunade and her assistant."

Right when Danzo finished that sentence, the two ROOT ninja advanced on the Slug Sannin and her apprentice. Tsunade threw her blanket at the ROOT shinobi coming towards her and leapt out of the bed. Tsunade's apprentice, on the other hand, had thrown some sebon needles at her attacker. While the ROOT-nin sidestepped most of the thrown needles, some made their way into his arm, and when he flinched, Shizune punched him in the face, sending him to the ground backwards. As more ROOT ninjas entered to assist, Tsunade picked up the bed and threw it at them and the ROOT-nin who just got the blanket off. But Danzo, who had moved early in the fight, had stepped in and chopped off Shizune's head with his katana and then stabbed it into Tsunade's chest.

"You've lost." Danzo said, kicking the dead Sannin off his blade. . . and frown as she turned into a log. He spun around and looked at Shizune. Sure enough, he had also decapitated a log.

"Substitutions?" He growled.

Tsunade smirked.

"Looks like I haven't lost completely." She said to herself and then kneeled down. Fighting off the ROOT-nin and using the substitution drained what little chakra she had regained.

"Shizune," She said in a quiet voice. "We must find Naruto."

Nodding, Shizune picked up Tsunade and leapt through Konoha's rubble.

**Okay, so this is my take of what happened after chapter 449: Tsunade is still awake, but with the village in ruins and chaos, Danzo has decided to assassinate her. However, since she's escaped the attempt, Danzo is gonna send more ROOT ninja after her until she is either killed or driven out of Konoha. Then, he can bring the village under his control and can deal with Tsunade later.**

**As for the moment between Tsunade and Shizune, I was going for a heartwarming moment so it could be a bit OOC.**

**The fic will shift between humour and drama/seriousness, just to let you know. Initially, I want it to be more serious at the beginning and get more light hearted as it goes on.**

**And finally, be sure to leave a review.**


	2. Leaving the Village I Saved

**Chapter 2: Leaving the Village I Saved.**

Naruto and Hinata had managed to get some time off and went to a vacant training area to talk to each other. At first, it was the Academy, then the Chunin Exams, and finally, some of the missions they went on.

"And then he grabbed it and ran, saying something about going somewhere." Said Naruto, finishing a tale about a conflict with a missing-nin from Kiri where an attack blasted open a metal crate full of 'magazines' and 'art books.' Hinata giggled at the thought of a tough-looking ninja grabbing a metal box and dashing away.

"Say Hinata."

Hinata looked at Naruto. His face was now serious.

"That moment, the one where said you loved me, is it true?" He asked. A blush crept onto Hinata's face, and she nodded.

"And for the reasons you told me?" Naruto asked, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her close to him.

"Yes." She answered quietly. Lavender eyes met blue ones and their owners leaned closer. Both closed their eyes as they leaned in and-

Shizune leapt into the training area, Tsunade in her arms.

"Naru-to?" Shizune asked. Naruto and the Hyuga Heiress, Hinata, were sitting far away from each other, red faced and not looking at each other.

"Oooooh." Shizune said, wincing. Tsunade suddenly remembered a similar moment between her and Dan being interrupted by Jiraiya.

"Tsunade!" Naruto shouted, running up to her. "Why are you here?"

"I was attacked by Danzo." Tsunade answered. "He tried to have me assassinated just so he could be Hokage."

"WHAT?" Naruto asked, shocked by the news. Shushing him, Tsunade continued, while Shizune placed her next to a tree.

"Naruto, I've had my suspicions about Danzo, starting with when he put Sai on your team. But now, with the state of Konoha, he's taken his chance to get rid of me."

"What will you do, Hokage-sama?" Hinata asked.

"Flee. If I stay, he's gonna send ROOT after me." The Sannin anwered.

"ROOT? What's that?"

"It's a special division of ANBU that's been trained to be emotionless. And-" The next part sounded bitter. "-He's the leader."

Naruto looked down, thinking about what he had learned. 'This wasn't what was supposed to happen.' He thought. He was just promoted to Jonin, and Tsunade would announce when she was better. He saved Konoha, things were supposed to get better, not worse!

"Hinata, go find the others." Said Naruto, heading for the Konoha. "Tell them to come to this training ground."

"Okay Naruto-kun." She said, running ahead of Naruto.

"Wait, where are you going?" Tsunade asked.

"I forgot something." He said. "I need to get it if we're gonna leave."

"Very well." Said Tsunade. "But we can't wait too long."

Moments later, Naruto got what he needed when he ran into Kakashi.

"Naruto, I've got some bad news."

Naruto had an idea of what it had to do with. "What is it Kakashi-sensei?" He asked.

"Tsunade's been kidnapped."

"She wasn't kidnapped." Replied Naruto. Kakashi raised his only visible eyebrow in suspicion. "Danzo tried to assassinate her and Shizune, just so he could be Hokage. They're hiding at a training ground and they're gonna leave."

Kakashi thought about the info he was just told. If what Naruto told him was true, Danzo is probably sending ROOT to find her.

"Is anyone else going with them?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, I am, and I asked Hinata to find the others." Naruto answered.

"Alright. Good luck Naruto. I'll try to do anything on my part to help out here."

As Naruto left, Kakashi thought that part of Naruto's jacket was bulging slightly. Whatever. He pulled out his _Icha Icha_ book and started reading.

Moments later, Hinata was back at the training ground with Ino, Sakura, Tenten, Neji, and Kiba. They have been told that they would be leaving Konoha temporarily, and that they would keep Tsunade safe while she recovered.

Tsunade looked over the group. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. Now, if only Naru-

"Hey guys," Said Naruto as he walked back. "Sorry I'm late!"

Sakura was about to say something to Naruto, mainly involving being late, how ROOT could have found them, but instead, her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. Along with the rest of the group, with the exception of Tsunade.

Danzo had managed to convince that since it would take some time to find Tsunade's 'kidnappers,' he should be 6th Hokage for time being. He stepped into the room that held the symbolic hat and robes of Hokage, and opened the cabinet holding.

He frowned. The hat and robes weren't there. And if they weren't here, then that meant only one thing.

"You took the Hokage's hat?" Sakura asked bewildered.

"And the robes." Added Naruto. And WEARING them. And he's GOOD-LOOKING in them.

"If you are done, I think we should pack that up and start moving."

Naruto removed the Hokage's Clothing and handed it to Tsunade, who handed it to Shizune, who sealed it in a scroll and packed it up. Now that they were ready, the small group of ninja turned to leave-

-and came face-to-face with a group of ninja from Kumo.

**Yeah, I don't have too much to say about this chapter, aside from the fact that Shizune is aware that she killed a moment between Naruto and Hinata, and that I'm going to have the group go to Kumo since the Raikage ordered a meeting of all the kages.**


	3. Before the Kage's Meet

**Chapter 3: Before the Kages meet.**

"Eye of the Moon?"

"Yes. It has come to that due to Naruto."

"Whatever this plan is Tobi, it better not involve the complete and utter destruction of his body. I don't want to explain to my boss why I returned with less than nine Jinchuriki."

When this man came upon a meeting, at first Akatsuki wanted to kill him, but when he said he could get an army for them, thus fulfilling one of Pain's objectives, they allowed him to remain as an ally. Unfortunately, this ally was not one they could keep quiet with fear. He is quick to remind the group that should they kill him, his boss would send the army to crush Akatsuki. Not that Madara is afraid. He is the most powerful Uchiha after all.

"Don't worry, he will leave remains." Madara answered.

"Good." The man said, turning around and leaving, probably to continue to find the host of the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle, which is what he seems to be doing when they haven't caught a Jinchuriki.

"I can't wait for him to be done and leave." Zetsu's black half said when the man was far away.

"Me too." Madara agreed. Not that he was worried.

Having reached a village, Ino, Kiba, Hinata, Neji, Tenten and Sakura explained to Team Samui as much as possible about Sasuke, much to Naruto's chagrin, while Shizune and Tsunade were in a hotel. Resting her Sensei on a bed, Shizune sat down in a nearby chair. Seeing the look on Tsunade's face, she asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"I wish I had some sake right now." Tsunade answered.

'Yeah, shame we forgot that.' Shizune thought. . . and then realizing that they forgot another thing:

"Oh my gosh, we forgot Tonton!"

Tonton, who was sleeping peacefully, despite what happened earlier, suddenly snapped open her eyes, sealed her belongings into a sealing scroll (Smart pig), and left, and ran towards her master.

Kakashi, while on his way to the Jonin meeting, had ran into Might Guy, who started telling him about how Lee found a dog.

"It's great! He definitely has the power of. . ."

Kakashi looked up from his book and saw Tonton running for the exit of the village.

"So what were you saying?" Kakashi asked when the pig was out of sight.

Shikaku Nara stared at the metal box on the table. It had four knobs on it, with strange symbols on them. A few minutes ago, an ANBU walked into the tent and gave it to him, telling him that it was found in the ruins of the Uchiha compound, and left.

"Dad."

Shikaku turned around and saw his son.

"Someone wants to speak with you."

Shikaku left the tent and saw the messenger, the captain of the ANBU.

"The Daimyo wants to speak with you." The Captain told Shikaku. Nodding, the Nara then turned to his son.

"Shikamaru, keep an eye on that puzzle box while I'm gone."

"Okay da-" Skikamaru stopped, watching as Tonton ran past.

". . .How troublesome."

Much later, Kabuto was still wandering bout when Tonton ran past.

"That pig seems familiar. . ." Kabuto said to himself, but by the time he realized who it was, the purple-haired menace known as Anko Mitarashi had caught up to him and attacked.

As Shizune paced around, thinking about to sneak back into Konoha and get Tonton, the door opened. Looking at the newcomer, Shizune's jaw dropped.

"Tonton?"

"Oink!"

Like I said, smart pig. Too bad I'm probably not gonna mention her after this part.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked up to see Hinata standing in the doorway.

"You walked away when we were talking to those ninja from Kumo." She closed the door and sat down on the bed. "Is there something wrong?"

"It's just, I feel like I'm betraying him by telling those Kumo-nin info." Naruto answered.

"Even telling them that he was your friend?"

Naruto nodded.

"Also, I think he's being manipulated by someone."

"Someone is manipulating Sasuke-kun?"

"Yeah, I think it's that masked guy we fought when we tried to find him."

Hinata did not answer, not knowing what to say in this situation.

Seeing the look on her face, Naruto smiled and said, "Don't worry. I'll find a way to stop that masked man and save Sasuke!"

Hinata smiled. He was as determined as ever.

"I know you will Naruto-kun." She said. Hugging Naruto, she left the room. Looking outside of the window, he saw that the group was gone, and that the sun was gonna set.

'Well, it would take a while to get to the Land of Iron.' He thought. He left his hotel room, hoping to find ramen.

The Fire Daimyo Sat in his meeting room, alone, waiting. The door opened, and a Samurai entered.

"Daimyo," Said the Samurai, bowing. "Nara Shikaku has just arrived."

"Let him in." Ordered the Daimyo. The Samurai left, and Shikaku entered.

"You wanted to see me?" Shikaku asked.

"Yes, what has happened in Konoha?"

Shikaku explained everything that happened: Pain's Invasion, Naruto's arrival, defeating Pain (Though the Daimyo was concerned when the mention of Naruto taking on the six-tailed state and eight-tailed state was mentioned), the mass revival of everyone who died in the invasion. It was only when he mentioned that Danzo had become Acting Hokage did the Daimyo become interested.

"Good." He said.

"Good?" Shikaku asked, bewildered. "Daimyo, how could Danzo becoming Hokage be a good thing?"

"Danzo has been trying to become Hokage for a long time, and there is some evidence that suggests that he has done. . . questionable things to get to it."

"Yes, but the evidence we have is very little and-"

"And while little, it gives us a clue to his motives. And now that he is Hokage-"

"He could slip up." Shikaku finished.

"Exactly." Said the Daimyo. Placing his hands on the table and leaning forward, he continued, "I want you to-"

"Honey, Tora ran away again!" Madam Shijimi shouted from another room.

**BANG!**

"For the last time, stop squeezing her so tightly!" The Daimyo shouted.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do with my precious little Tora! Send out for someone to find her!"

"I'm in the middle of something right now! It can wait!"

"Should I leave?" Shikaku asked.

"No." Said the Daimyo. "Where was I? Oh yes! I want you to give me a report of Danzo's actions at the end of each day. When he slips up badly, I'll give the order to apprehend, or if needed, kill Danzo."

Shikaku bowed. "As you wish, Daimyo."

"Oh, and send a Genin team to get my wife's cat, when you get back?" The Daimyo asked in a more casual tone.

Konohamaru had met this kid named Inari. He (Inari) told him that he was from the Land of Waves, and that he came here to help rebuild Konoha. He also told him about how, three years ago, Naruto and his team mates saved his grandfather. During this tale, Konohamaru shuddered.

"What is it?" Inari asked.

"Just a strange feeling I got, like I'm gonna have to do a job that I hate soon."

**I guess that's all for this chapter. But MAN, it took me a long time to write it, due to things like laziness, and Fallout 3. Aside from that, it's a good thing I did wait a bit, since the names of the other Jinchuriki, the what Tailed Beasts they held, and where the Kage Summit is, has been revealed. The first two is also good for me since I plan on using the Jinchuriki.**

**Anyway, be sure to read and review.**


	4. The Kage Summit

**Chapter 4: The Kage Summit.**

Naruto did not sleep well that night. He dreamed he was on a date with Hinata, but then Sakura came up and punched him, asking why he suddenly decided to go with Hinata. Naruto then tried dating her, but then Hinata started crying and asked him how could he break her heart, and after that, both girls attacked him and he woke up.

'That was horrible!' Thought Naruto. 'Maybe I should talk to Sakura. . .'

Naruto gulped. Getting out of bed, he moved to get his clothes when his door opened. Standing in the doorway, was Kiba, in his boxers.

"Hey Naruto!" He said excitedly. "They're serving pancakes!" He rushed down the hall.

"Eek! Kiba! Put some clothes on!"

Kiba reappeared, going the opposite way.

"And that's why I'm afraid to ask her." Naruto told Ino. They were sitting at a small table at a café near the hotel, eating breakfast.

"Naruto, I'm sure Sakura would be willing help you settle this problem!" Said Ino.

"Alright." Naruto took a deep breath and then turning to his left. "So Sakura-"

"Naruto." She said, resting her hand on top of his. "I'm glad that you wanted to clear things up. Hinata deserves your love more than I do."

"Thank you Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled, though it disappeared when she saw that her hand was still on Naruto's.

"I hope she doesn't see us by accident and get the wrong impression."

"It's okay Sakura-chan." Said Hinata, who sat to the left of Sakura. "I understand."

"Sakura!"

The pink haired kunoichi turned around to see Shizune ran up.

"Tsunade-sama wants to speak with you."

Nodding, Sakura finished off her breakfast and stood up.

"Is this place any good? The hotel was out of pancakes when I got there."

Everyone turned to Omoi. . . who was in his boxers.

"What?"

"What do you mean, he's not in the village?"

The ROOT-nin winced, but stood his ground.

"Uzumaki Naruto is not in the village." Said the ROOT-nin.

"Tsunade must have reached him first." Said Danzo. "I want you to gather a team and bring back Naruto."

The ROOT-nin bowed, and left, leaving Danzo to think about how he can persuade the Jonin to vote for him.

"Naruto-kun, are you ready?" Hinata asked, walking into his room.

"Yeah, but can I can I say something first?" Said Naruto.

"What is it?" 'Is he gonna say what I think he's gonna say?'

"Hinata, I-"

"Hurry up you lovebirds! We gotta get going!" Yelled Kiba, standing in the doorway.

". . .Okay." Said Naruto. "Who knows what dangers, and surprises await us during the trip."

One completely safe and uneventful trip later. . .

"Wow, that was boring." Said Naruto, settling into the new inn. They were at a village outside the Land of Iron. Samui and her team left to go back to Kumo, while Tsunade (Who had her youthful looks back), Shizune and Neji left for the Summit. So Naruto and the others were to wait a while.

Tsunade entered the meeting chamber, sat down, and placed her hat on the table. The Kazekage, Gaara, was already present. Soon, the Tsuchikage, who looks like a dwarf, entered, followed by the Raikage and the Mizukage, each one place their hats on the table.

"Naruto-kun, what is it?" Hinata asked after Naruto pulled her into his room.

"Hinata-chan, there is something I wanted to tell you." He started. "That reminds me!" He closed the door, locked it, nailed some boards over it, and pushed a shelf in front of it.

Anko wasn't happy. Kabuto had escaped (Though she injured him good), and had just returned to Konoha to see a crater. Fortunately, the tent selling dango was set up, along with the tent selling sake. Leaving the dango tent, with said food in hand, she headed to the sake tent to get some, well, sake.

"Hinata, I think that you are a strong kunoichi, and, well, you were brave to fight Pain."

Hinata nodded. 'He's gonna say it this time! I can't believe it!' After all, third time's the charm, right?

"He's not here."

Way above the meeting chamber, Sasuke Uchiha frowned when he saw that Danzo was not in the audience. He looked at Suigetsu.

"How did you convince me to come here?"

"I-"

**SMASH!**

Sakura walked in, not noticing expression on Naruto's face, or Hinata's presence. . . at first.

"Naruto, are you done-"

Then she noticed.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's okay Sakura-chan." Naruto said in the kindest, softest voice. When he looked at her, he had a smile on his face.

"Naruto, are you okay?" The pink haired girl asked, concerned about her teammate.

"Yes I am. I'm gonna go outside for some fresh air."

Naruto left the room.

"Hinata, I am so sorry!" Apologized Sakura.

"What's with Naruto?" Said Tenten, entering the room. "He's smiling and it feels creepy."

Before the girls could say anything else, a loud scream was heard, coming from Naruto. It had:

-Shattered a lot of glass.

-Shattered all the sake bottles.

-Caused lots of birds to fly into the air.

-Shattered Kabuto's glasses, causing him to stumble into a deep pit.

-Stopping the Kages, who were arguing.

-And:

Sasuke slipped, but had managed to regain his footing and left. Too bad that what he slipped, he blew his cover, and now has thousands of Samurai after him.

After the scream had stopped, the meeting resumed.

"Alright, I'm not sure why the Uchiha was here," Said the Raikage. "But what was with the guy in purple? Who comes for a bunch of swords?"

Chojuro rubbed his eye, due to the guy in purple dropping on him, punching him out, and taking his swords.

'_It's personal._'

"As I was saying," Said the Mizukage. "There were rumours that my predecessor was being controlled by someone. I did not want to make a big deal out of it."

"You all-"

"Watch your tongue, Raikage!" Interrupted the Tsuchikage. "It's because you were continuing to amass power and techniques during this time of disarmament that other countries were forced to hire Akatsuki in the first place!"

"What!!?"

"This fighting is not getting us anywhere." Said Tsunade. "We should be trying to find a way to stop the Akatsuki, not throw accusations at each other."

"She's right," Said Mifune. "The leader of Akatsuki read the signs of the times, he used the stability and the suspicion of the other countries to increase his own power, at this rate, even the Land of Iron. . ." Mifune stopped, not finishing the sentence. Then an idea hit him.

"But there's always a silver lining. It's rare for the five Kages to come together like this-"

'Gee, I wonder why.' Thought many of the people in the room.

"What do you say, until Akatsuki is taken care of, what you think of forming a five-village alliance?"

"An alliance!?" Shouted the Raikage.

"The chain of command should be uniform. We want to avoid any further confusion."

"So," Started the Tsuchikage. "The question is who will have authority over this new army?"

"You only fight amongst yourselves," Said Mifune. "So I would like you to respect my position as a neutral party. I will decide who among you is best suited for the job."

All five Kage listened intently.

"The only host left, is Konoha's Nine-Tailed Beast. I think it will be the key to all of this. What will you say? Will you allow the Hokage to lead the alliance?"

"What!?" Demanded the Raikage.

"Wha!?" Asked the Tsuchikage.

"No."

All heads turned to the person who said that.

"One of the members of Akatsuki attacked Konoha." Said Tsunade. "One of the elders, Danzo, used it as the opportunity to take over the village. If he finds out, who knows what he would do."

"Alright then." Said Mifune. "Then there is only one other choice. He is from a far away land, and is said to be smart and beloved by his people."

"Who?" Asked Gaara.

"Sir! A message has been sent to you from the Land of Iron!" A messenger stated as he entered the throne room.

"Land of Iron, what do they want now?" Demanded Emperor Transbaal.

"Sir, they want you to lead an army to stop-"

"PACK MY BAGS!" Ordered the Emperor. "TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! I HAVE AN ARMY TO LEAD!"

"But-"

Too late, as Emperor left the throne room, shouting orders and preparing for his trip.

"Boy, do I feel sorry for the Land of Iron." One of the Royal Guard whispered.

**And. . . That's a wrap! Before I comment on my story, I just have to comment on the manga. I hope that the other Kages object to having Danzo as the leader of the alliance. I mean, Hokage is one thing, but the leader of an alliance could spawn something worse.**

**Now then, The Land of Iron and the Emperor (Where he's from will be revealed next chapter) haven't been in contact in a long time, so what Mifune said might be a wee bit off. . .**

**Huh, there's more humor in this chapter. So, be sure to review.**


	5. The Emperor

**Chapter 5: Emperor Transbaal.**

It was a regular day for Prince Shiva Transbaal. Having returned home from the Royal Academy, he dropped his books off in his room and flopped onto the living room couch. A servant brought him a cup of tea, bowed, and turned to leave.

"Say, why's the palace so peaceful?" Shiva asked the servant.

"Your father left, the Land of Iron needed him to lead an army of ninjas." The servant answered.

"An army of ninjas? Sounds awesome." Shiva commented, taking a sip from his tea.

_Your father left. . . needed him to lead. . ._

_Lead. . ._

_Lead._

Shiva spat out his tea. His father, _lead_ an army? That can't be good.

"Hello?" Venomhand answered as he answered the phone. "Prince Shiva, is there something wrong? An army of ninjas? Awseome. Wait, who's leading them?"

"I know, you have to stop them before he takes reign of that army and causes damage." Said Prince Shiva.

"Understood." Said Venomhand, hanging up the phone.

Prince Shiva hung up as well and turned to do something else when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"By the way, since I'm gonna be leaving Empire City, do you want me to bring you a souvenir?"

The moment the guest room door closed, Tsunade reverted to her old age, and nearly collapsed, stopped only by Shizune.

"Tsunade-Sama, you shouldn't strain yourself like this!" Shizune said in a worried and concerned tone.

"I know." Said Tsunade. "But I don't want to risk it." Gaara was having trouble just _speaking_ without being interrupted by either the Tsuchikage or the Raikage, the same thing could happen if she did not have her Age Jutsu on.

"The Mizukage knows."

Tsunade and her apprentice turned to Neji.

"When we thought the Raikage might attack and prepared to fight him, I got a look at one of the Mizukage's bodyguards. The one with the eyepatch has a Byakugan under it." He explained. But what he wanted to know was how did he get it?

"The Hokage isn't lying." Said Ao.

"Hm?"

"Her chakra is dangerously low. She can barely keep the Jutsu that makes her look young on."

The Mizukage frowned in disgust. The Hokage is close to collapsing from chakra exhaustion, and she risks it for her vanity. Although, she is the Legendary Slug Sannin, Tsunade, and it might not be good to let down the Jutsu and show that she has no Chakra, especially after the way the Tsuchikage and the Raikage acted towards the Kazekage. Looking at Chojuro, her frown turned into a smile.

"Let me see your eye Chojuro." She said in a kind voice. As she checked it out, a light blush came on the Legendary Swordsman's cheeks.

"He's fine," Said Ao. "He just needs to be a man. In my day-"

The Mizukage closed her eyes, and then:

"Ao, shut up or I'll kill you."

"What?"

"Say Gramps, do you know who this Emperor Transbaal is?" Kurotsuchi asked.

"Nothing much, just that he's the ruler of Empire City," Answered Onoki. "And that he is powerful and respected figure there."

"Like you?" Said Akatsuchi.

"Yeah. Like me."

The Raikage stood in his room, thinking. If what the Hokage said is true, then that means that the embodiment of darkness has taken over one of the most powerful ninja villages, and that he could be a bigger threat than the Akatsuki. Why, Danzo has been suspected of helping Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha three years ago, among other atrocities. As they wait, Danzo could be gaining strength.

This Emperor can't get here any faster.

At some pit, a pale figure with shoulder length black hair climbed out of the pit.

"Kukukukuku. I have returned!"

At that point, thousands of Oto villagers, prisoners, shinobi, and former test subjects all felt a chill in their soul, like a horrible evil returning.

"Did you feel that?" Karin asked.

"You felt that too?" Said Suigetsu.

"Quiet!" Ordered Sasuke. "We're supposed to-"

"There they are!"

And soon, Taka was on the run from hundreds of Samurai. . . again.

Since the Emperor was reported to be close, the five Kages were back in the meeting room, bodyguards behind them, and on the balcony. I would be a few minutes before Emperor-

BAM!

Nevermind. Staring at the open door, the Kages saw Emperor Transbaal walk in, followed by six bodyguards and Mifune. The Emperor wore heavy armour, painted gold, with a red tabard bearing the royal insignia of the Transbaal family, and a blue cape. His bodyguards, on the other hand, wore black business suits, sunglasses and had earpieces. They looked around the room, taking note of the Kages and their guards.

"So this is what I have to work with?" Said the Emperor. "No wonder you need me."

The Kages frowned.

"Sir, you should not jump to conclusions so quick." Said one of the bodyguards.

"Okay, fine. Why can't they lead?" Asked the Emperor.

"Well, the Mizukage can't lead due to the fact that they have no ties with any of the other hidden villages, and that they may lead leak information to the enemy." Mifune explained, gesturing to the Mizukage. Then he gestured to Gaara. "The Kazekage can't lead due to his age." He then gestured to Tsunade. "The Hokage can't lead due to an internal power struggle happening in her village." Mifune gestured to Onoki. "The Tsuchikage can't lead due to using Akatsuki, your enemy, too many times, and thus, he cannot be trusted." Mifune gestured to the Raikage. "And finally, the Raikage can't be trusted since he tends to have his emotions impact his decisions."

"That only proves my point." Said the Emperor. "I mean, of course you're gonna have trouble when you have women leading things, and we all know that women can't do anything."

_Crack._

Neji looked at Shizune, who was gripping the rail so hard that the wood was cracking. Looking at the Sand Siblings, he noticed Kankuro putting distance from Temari, who was glaring at the Emperor. The Mizukage was also glaring, and Tsunade, despite having trouble keeping her Age Jutsu up, snapped off part of the table with ease.

"And of course you'll have trouble with a kid as a leader." Said Emperor Transbaal.

"Sir, you do realize that he is the same age as Venomhand, right?" Said another bodyguard.

"So?" Asked Emperor Transbaal.

"If he's the leader of a village, he is strong."

"Well, he's no Venomhand so he's useless!" Looking at Gaara, he then said in an insulting voice, "Run back to mommy!"

Now Gaara was shooting a death glare at the Emperor.

"And you'll definitely have problems with a gnome as leader!"

"GNOME?" Onoki seethed. "Why you little-"

And finally, you're asking for it if you have an idiot as leader." Finished the Emperor.

"IDIOT?" Shouted the Raikage, slamming his fist on the table, damaging it again. Transbaal's bodyguards, who had been inching away from the Emperor as he stated his reasons, reached into their coats, and pulled out pistols and aimed at the Raikage. As the Raikage's bodyguards leapt down to defend him, Zetsu's white half emerged from the ground.

"Akatsuki?" Said Tsunade, grabbing the hat as Shizune and Neji, along with other Kage's bodyguards landed on the table.

"So it would appear." Answered Onoki.

"Uchiha Sasuke is here somewhere." He said. "I wonder where?"

"I don't care about this 'Uchiha Sasuke!'" Said Emperor Transbaal, as a flag with the logo of Empire City appeared, waving, with some music to back it up. "You see, you have to deal with the Mighty Emperor Transbaal!"

'Where did that flag and the music come from?' Wondered the Mizukage.

"You see, I have Venomhand and-"

"He's not here, sir!" Said one of the Emperor's bodyguards. And yes, they are aiming at Zetsu now.

"Well, send word for him to come!" Ordered the Emperor. "I'm here for five minutes, and everything's falling apart! I mean-"

It was during the Emperor's rant that Zetsu slowly sunk into the ground, with said Emperor not noticing. Also during said rant, all five Kages glared at Mifune.

As Venomhand waited at the docks, checking his supplies, a boy with blonde hair ran up, followed by a man in red and black armour.

"Venomhand, the Prince told the council about the Emperor's leaving." Said the armoured man.

"Yeah, and I'm going there to stop him." Said Venomhand.

"Alright, if he causes too much trouble, the council wants you give him this." The man gave Venomhand a letter, which he pockteted. "And if he doesn't step down afterwards, you have the authority to arrest him."

"Understood." Said Venomhand. "Iceclaw, are you ready?" He asked the blonde.

"Yes."

"Let's go!" And with that, the two boys got into the waiting boat and drove towards the Elemential Countries.

"-And finally-"

"Emperor Transbaal, I know you have problems," Said Mifune. "But I think we should leave and start planning on how to deal with Akatsuki."

"You're right, though you mean me since those do-nothings would make things worse." As soon as the Emperor and his guards left, a piece of the conference table embedded itself in the wall next to the door.

"THAT'S the smart man from far away?" Demanded the Raikage. "I would rather have the Kazekage lead than that idiot!"

"I'll try to find a way to undo this mistake." Said Mifune. "But now, this meeting is over and we have to follow his commands."

It would be later, while Tsunade, Shizune and Neji packed up when the Mizukage walked in, and had offered them shelter in Kirigakure.

"Since we'll be working together and it would be a good to have a leader who isn't. . . bigoted to work with." She said.

Tsunade thought about the offer. Kirigakure is not known for their love of Kekkei Genkai and it could be dangerous for Hinata and Neji, although, being under the protection of the Mizukage could help, and if Kirigakure is the birthplace of Akatsuki, and they might have controlled the 4th Mizukage, there could be some vital information.

"Yes, shelter would be good." Said Tsunade.

**Few things about this chapter:**

**One, Prince Shiva is not mine and comes from the game Galaxy Angel.**

**Two, in case you're worried about Venomhand stealing the spotlight, don't be. I don't plan on having him playing a huge part of the story.**

**Three, I'm not too glad about the ending of this chapter. I could not find a way to word the Mizukage's offer, nor am happy about how I worded Tsunade's response. If I do come up with a proper way to word it, I'll change it.**

**Finally, did I do with Emperor Transbaal and getting every Kage to hate him?**

**Next chapter will have some focus in Konoha.**


	6. Beginning the Hunt

**Chapter 6: Beginning the Hunt.**

Shikamaru turned the dials on the box, trying to get it to open. He had managed to figure out that the symbols were a code, and that they had to spell a word. The word would have to do with the Uchiha clan, but so far, nothing worked.

"Nara Shikamaru, hand over the box."

Shikamaru turned around to see two ROOT-nin standing behind him, emotionless, and waiting for.

"Why do you want it?" The Nara asked.

"It contains vital information and it should be taken to Acting Hokage Danzo immediately."

"I was put in charge of figuring out how to open it, does Danzo know how?"

"That is none of your business. Hand over the box, or you will be imprisoned for treason."

Shikamaru considered for a moment, then passed them the box. The ROOT-nin turned around-

-and collapsed as Kakashi used his Sharingan on them.

"Thanks." Said Shikamaru, picking up the box.

"I heard them mentioning a box and how it had to be recovered." Said Kakashi.

"Recover?" Shikamaru said to himself. Glancing at the disabled ROOT-nin on the floor, Shikamaru tried another word on the box, and was rewarded with a click, and the box opening.

"What was the word?" Kakashi asked.

"ROOT." Shikamaru answered. Looking inside, they found a series of buttons. Since it looked it would take a while, both ninja moved to find a safer place to decode the box.

Tsunade, Shizune and Neji returned to the inn, gathered the others and informed them of what would be happening.

"Neji, Hinata, you'll have to hide your eyes when we reach Kiri since the civilians don't trust people with Kekkei Genkai."

"Why?" Kiba asked.

"Kirigakure has gone though alot of civil wars, and during those times, those with Kekkei Genkai were responsible for causing high death tolls. . ."

The explaination made Naruto think about Haku, and how people hated him because of his Kekkei Genkai.

"Naruto?"

Naruto looked up to see Shizune and Hinata looking at him, worried, and the others starting to move ahead.

"Are you okay?" Shizune asked.

"Yeah, I was thinking about something." He answered.

The Mizukage, along with Ao and Chojuro, waited for Tsunade to show up with the rest of her group. Fortunately, they did not have to wait long. Something had them looking behind them as they emerged. There was a pink-haired girl in red, a brunette with buns, a blonde in a revealing purple outfit, a boy with red triangles on his cheeks and a white dog, the Hyuga, who was carrying Tsunade. Three more joined the group from behind, Shizune, Tsunade's apprentice, another Hyuga, most likely from the main branch of the family and a boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks on his cheeks. It was that boy who made Mizukage's eyes widen in shock.

"Is something wrong?" Asked Chojuro. As the Konoha ninja turned forward, the Mizukage's shock disappeared.

"It's nothing." She said.

For years, Danzo had been planning on becoming the Hokage of Konoha. If he was, he would not bother with the Shodai Hokage's silly ideals, no, he would rule Konoha as it should have been ruled, by force!

And now, he could.

Once more of the village is rebuilt, he could start his laws, and then snuff out those who would oppose him, like Tsunade. She might have escaped, but now, he must act in order to put his plans in motion, otherwise Tsunade will regain her position. Soon, she, the host of the Kyubi and their protectors would be in Kirigakure, and Kirigakure, as Danzo knew, has a strong military. He would have to wait until they leave the village. Aside from that, Sasuke has left the Land of Iron, and he's heading towards the Land of Fire. Why he stupidly went to the Kage Summit if he (Danzo) wasn't there,

"That's the Fourth Mizukage?"

While waiting Tsunade and the Mizukage to get a house for the group of Konoha ninja and explain to Kirigakure what happened at the Summit and why she had returned with Konoha ninja, Naruto took a look at the statues of their previous leaders. While he thought it was interesting that the Nidaime Mizukage was Madara, he was more surprised to see the statue of the Yondaime, Yagura, was a young boy with a scar going down his left cheek.

"He was chosen since he could control his Tailed Beast, the Sanbi no Kyodaigame." Ao answered. "He said he would bring down the hatred of Kekkei Genkai, and bring the village out of its constant infighting. But someone did not like that, and turned him into a power hungry warlord who had made things worse."

"That's horrible." Said Naruto.

"I know." Replied Ao. "Someone had put him in a Genjutsu, and released him from it. He was devastated at what he did to his village. He left, he must have died because we saw the Sanbi running around without a host."

"Oh." Said Naruto, looking down in disappointment. Ao looked at Naruto, who continued. "I was in a village in the Land of Water, preparing to head back to Konoha when I saw him. . ."

FLASHBACK

4 hours before Naruto returns to Konoha. . .

Naruto headed out of the inn to wander the village since Jiraiya was doing 'research' for his book. It was during this walk around the village he saw a young boy. He had platinum blonde hair, pink eyes, and a scar going down his left cheek. Aside from hiss green and black attire, a strange weapon adorned his back. It had hooks at both ends, a small one at the bottom and a big one at the top, with a flower just below the big hook. He was sitting on a fence post, staring at the ocean with a look of sadness on his face. Naruto walked up to the kid.

"What's the matter?" Naruto asked.

"I failed my village." The boy answered. "I tried to help them, but I've failed them."

"So why did you run away?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Naruto noticed the Kiri Hitai-ite on the boy's shirt.

"I was thinking about living on one of the other islands, like maybe the Land of Waves." Said the boy.

"You shouldn't run from your problems." Said Naruto.

"I know." Replied the boy. "But until I feel like I could say sorry, I don't want to stay too close to Kiri."

"Wait, you could come to Konoha with me! I'm going back soon, and maybe-"

"Thanks, but I don't want to cause any trouble." Said the boy, proceeding to leap off the fence and walking away.

FLASHBACK OVER

"And what happened afterwards?" Ao asked.

"I returned to Konoha and then went on a mission to Suna-"

"To aid their Kazekage?" Ao interrupted.

"Yeah!" Naruto answered. "How-"

"He sent out the request to all villages. If you met the Yondaime just before that, then he must be alive!"

As the two left to inform the Mizukage and Tsunade about this news, this would be the start of the search for Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage.

**There.**

**Now while this chapter has some, possibly little, focus in Konoha, I plan to give the other ninja traveling with Tsunade some more air time for the next few chapters.**

**Also, someone said that they did not like Hinata say Sasuke-kun. I've got a loose grip on honorfics, and if someone can give me a quick definition of what each honorific means, that would be really helpful.**


	7. The Hunt Continues

**Chapter 7: The Hunt Continues.**

"You called for us, Mizukage-sama?" Sakura asked.

She, Kiba and Akamaru, and Tenten were summoned to the Mizukage's office, and when they arrived, they found Naruto already there, waiting with that Ao guy.

"Before you start, yes, The Hokage has allowed me to give you this mission."

That answered the question of why they were called to see her.

"A few months back, Yagura, the Yondaime Mizukage and the host of the Three-Tailed Beast disappeared. We thought he had died when we got reports of his Tailed Beast running though the wild by itself. But now, he might be alive, and we might have a chance to find him."

"I saw him."

Sakura and Kiba looked at Naruto, surprised.

"It was before I returned to Konoha," He continued softly. "He said he was thinking about the Land of Waves."

"Well then," Said the Mizukage. "I want you to find him, and bring him back. Ao will go with you. And incase Yagura resists, give him this." The Mizukage pulled out a letter and handed it to Naruto, who pocketed the letter. "Naruto, I want to speak with you alone."

Naruto blinked his eyes in confusion. "Okay."

"I want you to be careful out there. There are people who do care about you, and for you, not as the Host of the Kyubi."

"Thank you." Naruto said, heading for the office door. It felt. . . good that someone said that to him.

The man left the town, preparing to hunt for the Jinchuriki again before moving to another location and search. Pulling out a bottle of sake, he opened it.

"You."

The man stopped and turned around. There was an old man walking up to him, wearing a tattered brown cloak.

"I know what you are looking for." He said.

"And what is that?" The man asked.

"The Jinchuriki of the Sanbi no Kyodaigame." The old man answered. "And I want to help."

"Why do you want to help me?" The man asked. "Me, a man who simply wants to help the hosts of the Tailed Beasts gain more respect after being treated harshly by their villages? I mean-"

"I know you have ties to Akatsuki." Interrupted the old man. "Anything you're doing is not good for them."

"Well, you got me." Said the man. "What about you?"

"Revenge."

"How could someone do this?" Naruto asked, staring at the empty graves of Haku and Zabuza.

"They said it was recent."

Naruto looked at the approaching Ao.

"A few days ago, some stranger in a brown cloak dug them up. Not very practical since the decay would have destroyed anything their bodies would have said about their techniques. Anyway, we should-"

Naruto shot Ao a look that reminded the man of the Mizukage for some reason.

"Come back when you're ready." He said.

Sakura knocked on the door. She heard a voice say "I'm coming!" Before the door opened a few seconds later.

"Sakura! What brings you here?" Asked Tsunami. "Who are your friends?"

"Hello Tsunami. This is Tenten and Kiba, and his dog, Akamaru." Sakura responded.

"What happened to Naruto and Sasuke?"

"Naruto is with us, he's just checking something else right now."

"And Sasuke?"

Sakura didn't say anything, so Tenten covered for her.

"Well, he's on a trip, and we haven't heard from him in a long time." She lied.

"Oh."

"By the way," Said Tenten, remembering the description of Yagura from Ao. "Have you seen someone with blonde hair, pink eyes-"

"Green and black clothing, Kiri Headband worn on shirt?" Finished Tsunami. "Yeah, he came into town a few months ago, asked some people about the graves near the bridge, and then decided to go to the Land of Jungles."

When they arrived in the Land of Jungles, the team split into three groups, Naruto and Kiba for the first, Sakura and Tenten for the second, and Ao and, well, it's just him for the third.

"Yes, I saw a boy like that." Answered a shopkeeper.

"Did he say where he headed next?" Sakura asked.

"No."

Sakura went to the next shopkeeper and gave him the description of the Yondaime.

"Yeah he passed by."

"Did he say where he went next?"

"No."

Sakura walked away, and saw Tenten run up.

"Anything?" Sakura asked.

"One of the shopkeepers said that the boy bought some food, and headed for the docks." Tenten answered.

'Well, Naruto and Kiba are there. They should be able to figure out where the Yondaime Mizukage went.'

As luck would have it, they did. A dockworker said that he got onto the boat for the Land of Swamps. When they arrived, the people had told them where he went. However, there was one little thing. . .

"A wall?" Kiba said out loud. It was a thick, tall, wooden wall. The top of the wall was covered in spikes. He went up to the wall and started climbing.

"Don't do that."

Everyone turned to see a man in a brown loincloth walking up to them.

"That swamp is full of monsters, traps and Tribals."

"Tribals?" Sakura asked. "What are they?"

"They are men who have been corrupted into savages who will attack anyone." Answered the man.

"So?" Asked Kiba.

"If you just wander in there, you'll be ambushed."

Ao activated his Byakugan and checked within the swamp. Sure enough, there were Tribals patrolling the pathways, crouched in the water, behind bushes, behind trees. One was even playing dead.

"He's right." He said. "But we do need to enter the swamp."

"There is one way, but one of you must go on a quest." Said the man. "You must go into the Sacred Bog, and bring us the seeds from the Mother Plant."

"I'll go." Said Naruto.

"Very well, come with me."

Moments later, Naruto stood at the entrance of the Sacred Bog, wearing brown shorts that are stitched together, sandals held together with rope, and armbands made of rope. Taking a deep breath, he opened the wooden door and entered the Bog.

**I am not happy with this chapter. The intention was to start giving the rest of the group more attention, and I felt like I just rushed through this chapter because I couldn't think of anything, especially towards the end.**

**Next Chapter is gonna be solely focused on Naruto, and the chapter after that will be focused on rest of the team.**

**And finally, Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Arg.**


	8. Walking with Spirits

**Chapter 8: Walking with Spirits.**

Closing the door, Naruto found himself in a dark cave. At the other end was another door. He started walking towards it. On the ground were two skeletons, both wearing tattered brown shorts. A spear lay next to one of them. Passing them, Naruto opened the door, glanced around. There was lots of water, trees, and rocks. In the sky, the sun was setting. A turtle surfaced to attack the intruder. Not really much of a problem, except that the turtle was a snapping turtle the size of a small horse. Naruto responded by punching the turtle in the nose. Hard. Turning around, the turtle swam away. Naruto continued through the bog, stopping at a camp. There was a fire, still burning, and a box with a few bottles of sake waiting for someone to drink them. Moving on, Naruto didn't see anything else, and faced a few more turtles that wanted to snack on him.

'How much until I find this Mother Plant?' Thought Naruto, walking into the waist-high body of water. Passing some trees and rocks, he saw some torches up ahead.

'Huh?'

Moving faster, Naruto saw that the torches went onto land, and into a path between two large rocks. Running up the path, he stopped when he saw-

'The Mother Plant.' Naruto thought as he stared at the giant plant before him. Looking at the sky, he saw that it was now night time.

"That was easy." He said, pulling the seeds from the trunk of the Mother Plant. The Mother Plant did not take that too well, because the moment the seeds were pulled out, gas shot out, spraying Naruto in the face. Going into a coughing fit, Naruto collapsed.

Naruto's eyes shot open.

'Where am I?' He thought. 'Oh yeah, the Sacred Bog. I got those seeds and now I have to get back to the others.' Getting up, he made his way back. Simple, right?

However, things were not as they seem.

Right near the torches, he saw-

"Shikamaru?" He asked. "What are you doing here? And how did you get younger?"

Shikamaru didn't say anything. Naruto walked up to him. "Shikamaru?"

"_Tsk tsk."_ Said Shikamaru. _"Walked right into another trap. Exactly how Stupid are you?"_ And then he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Huh?" Confused, Naruto walked into the water and continued back to the others. But then, he saw Choji. He too, was younger.

"Choji? What-"

"_This is one situation you won't be able to fight your way out of."_ Said Choji, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

'Fight? What does he mean by-'

_Doink._

Naruto turned to the nearest tree. It was partially twisted into that Japanese Bamboo Thing that goes Doink, and the hill of land, also dotted with trees, had the same look, and making the same noise. Trying all the possible ways to break a Genjutsu, which didn't work, Naruto realized that he would have to continue through the bog. Walking past the trees, he saw younger Kiba waiting.

"_Don't worry, you almost out of here, and you'll be able to see your teammates. Probably disappointed that you came back though."_

Naruto glared at the fading wisps of smoke until the noise of swords clanging started. Looking to his right, he saw a large, double-hooked weapon clashing with a tipless tanto blade.

"What the?"

Naruto walked towards the fight, only for the blades to disappear. And then, everything turned purple.

"Okay, this is really weird." Naruto said to himself, moving down the path-

-only to stop at the scene of a skeleton laying on the ground, wearing a familiar purple jacket with a chakra rod stabbed into it's chest. Naruto did not want to think of who owned that jacket. Nor did he welcome the sight of a younger Sakura.

"_Eh, you'll come back to me soon."_

Walking past the scene, Naruto noticed that he was near that he was near the camp, things wouldn't be weird there, right?

**Wrong.**

Naruto saw that the swamp was upside down, and a younger Neji was waiting for him, hanging on a vine, also upside down. Naruto stepped onto the tree leaves, and walked towards Neji, who told him:

"_This isn't right. Not right at all."_

Rolling his eyes at the fading wisps of smoke, Naruto continued through, finding himself back in the regular, not upside down swamp. This would be nice, had everything not decided to switch from purple to an orange tint, and coming across two skeletons, one on an operating table with balloons decorating it, and the on the ground was a skeleton wearing a white coat with a red flame pattern at the bottom. And of course, the presence of a younger Ino meant:

"_Blech. If my kid looked like that, I'd abandon it too."_

'No they wouldn't do that, especially dad, he's counting on me!'

Naruto walked away, from the site, still asking the question when he saw a body float to the water's surface. Rushing into the water, he that it was-

"Iruka-Sensei?" Naruto asked in confusion. Kneeling down, he touched the body-

-only to see black flames consume it.

Naruto backed away, and saw other bodies. Haku, Kakashi, Gaara, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.

Naruto walked past them, stared at the two people waiting for him: Younger Sasuke, and the Deva Path of Pain.

"_Like they would make you Hokage."_

Naruto looked at the Deva Path, who merely looked at him.

"You!" He shouted. "How do I get out of here?"

The Deva Path didn't say anything. Naruto grabbed him.

"Answer me!"

"Don't wake up yet, we're not there yet!" The Deva Path answered, but his voice was really different.

Naruto was about to ask when a tidal wave hit him.

When Naruto woke up, he was greeted to the sight of a roof and that he was in a bed. To his right was a table with a photo of two boys. The first one was Yagura, and the other was an older, black haired boy in a blue robe. Sitting up, Naruto picked up the photo.

"That's Utakata, by the way."

Naruto looked to the doorway and saw Yagura standing there.

"I was getting some food when I noticed some ANBU coming out of the Sacred Bog holding your body." Yagura explained. "They said something about bringing you to someone named Danzo. I fought them off and brought you here."

"Thank you Yagura." Said Naruto. A frown appeared on Yagura's face.

"So you know who I am."

Naruto nodded. "But Yagura, why did you run away? It wasn't your fault."

"I know, but to Kiri, it is."

"That's not true." Said Naruto. "The new Mizukage didn't think it was your fault. Infact, she wanted me to give you something."

"And let me guess, it's on you other clothes, isn't it?" Yagura guessed.

Naruto looked down and saw that he was still in the tribal garb.

"Yeah."

It was quiet for a few moments before Yagura spoke again.

"By the way, I nevere got your name." Said the younger blonde.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Ah." 'Uzumaki? I wonder. . .'

"Yes," Said a third voice. "And it's so nice to see you both again."

Yagura leapt away from the door while Naruto jumped out of the bed, both ready to fight as Madara walked into the room.

"What are you doing here?" Said Yagura, glaring at the masked Akatsuki member.

"I'm not here to fight," Said Madara. "I'm here to _talk._"

**There we go. Like I said, next chapter shall focus on the rest of the group as they track down Naruto.**

**As for romance, that will continue once the group has returned to Kirigakure.**

**By the way, does anyone get the reference?**


	9. Following his Footsteps

**Chapter 9: Following his Footsteps.**

Good news: The Mother Plant's seeds were brought back.

Bad News: It wasn't Naruto who did it. Rather, they were attached to a kunai, along with a note that told them to go to the abandoned village.

"Thank you." Said the man in the loincloth. "I will open the gate."

Leading the group to the gate, he opened it and let them in.

"Over there!" Shouted Kiba, pointing to the body of an ANBU in front of a direction sign. It had a spear in his back.

"ANBU? Here?" Tenten asked.

Sakura knelt down and checked the body. "He died recently." Her eyes then moved to the weapon: A tipless tanto blade.

'ROOT? Why are they here?'

"There's another one!"

Tenten stayed behind, and looked at the sign. It was slightly faded, and the sign itself was bent.

'What happened here?' Thought Tenten.

While Sakura studied the second corpse, Ao activated his Byakugan.

"Sakura, get away from the bush!" He shouted. And no sooner did he say that, a tribal stood up, showing the group what the man meant by 'corrupted into savages.' His skin was red, along with its glowing eyes. His mouth had no lips, showing his sharp teeth to the world. He made an inhuman roar, only to get cut off by a kunai embedding itself in the Tribal's head, and then falling backwards. Sakura glanced at Tenten, who had her arm outstretched.

"Thanks."

"We better move." Said Ao.

Leaving the three bodies, the group soon found more. 3 more bodies, all of them ROOT. They had their weapons out and sported slashes. There was a fourth blade, all by itself, next to a trail of blood. Following it, they found the body a bit later.

"Hey, I think the Tribals are following us." Said Kiba. He can smell the group that was following them, and it was getting larger. . .

"They must be waiting for us to slip." Said Ao.

They reached the village, passing loincloth wearing skeleton impaled onto a pole. It must have been a warning to the Tribals, as they stopped following.

"Okay, we found the village," Said Sakura. "But which one is Naruto in?"

Kiba sniffed the air for a few seconds and then pointed to one of the houses.

"That one."

Entering the house, they heard some voices talking.

"You and Sasuke will have to fight, or I'll make him fight you."

"He's not your toy!"

"You won't be able to convince him like Nagato."

"Leave him out of this!"

"Well, I better get going. Your friends are here."

The group found the bedroom and entered, just in time to see Tobi disappear. Also in the room was Naruto, and the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura.

"Hey, it's your friends!" Said Yagura. He eyes moved to Ao. "Oh, and Ao."

"So, that's the Fourth?" Asked Kiba. He's younger than I thought."

"Doesn't mean I can't kick your butt."

Sakura handed Naruto his clothes, who then went into the pockets and pulled out a letter for Yagura.

"Bathroom's on the left." Said Yagura. Nodding, Naruto left to get changed.

**And now, the trip back. Unfortunately, it will not be easy for them.**


	10. Return of the Kage

**Chapter 10: The Return of the Ki-I mean Kage.**

"The Emperor hasn't reached Kiri yet?" Tsunade asked.

"No. He's in Kumo." Answered the Mizukage. "Who knows what chaos he's causing there."

"What's this thing?" Emperor Transbaal asked.

"It's a vending machine sir." Answered one of the bodyguards. "We have those at home."

For the past four days that Tsunade had spent recovering, the Mizukage had visited her periodically to discuss various issues, the current one being Emperor Transbaal. Yesterday was the Jinchuriki, the day before that was Akatsuki, and the day before that was the Summit. But let's move to the current topic: The Emperor. In Iwa, he had insulted the previous Tsuchikages. To say the village was angry was an understatement. In Suna, he had mocked Gaara. . . again, and destroyed a shipment of food and water. . . somehow. And while nothing has happened in Kumo yet, he would then move onto Kiri. Security would have to be tightened, and make sure his visit is brief. Who knows how Empire City's would retaliate to the loss of their leader?

Once the discussion was done, the Mizukage bade Tsunade farewell and got up to leave.

"By the way," Said Tsunade as the Mizukage stood up. "Thank you for helping me and my team."

"Glad I could help." Said the Mizukage, smiling.

"I'm sure your son would be proud of you."

The Mizukage's smile disappeared.

'You always know what to say kaa-san.' Thought Yagura as he finished folded up the letter and pocketed it. Moving to the closet, he pulled out some sealing scrolls and proceeded to start sealing away his personal items.

"Are you ready?" Naruto asked.

"Almost." Answered Yagura. He grabbed the photo of himself and Utakata. 'Well nii-san, looks like I'm going home.'

"Here? Are you nuts?"

"What's the matter?"

The two men stood outside the gate into the swamp.

"This place is cursed!" Said the old man. "I've heard the tales about those Tribals! I've heard they transform people into one of them!"

"You, scared by a few savages?" The man asked. "Honestly, I expected better from the Sandaime Mizukage of Kirigakure."

"We're not talking a few savages, we're talking about HUNDREDS of them! I may have been Mizukage, but I'm not stupid!"

"Don't worry, I have a friend who will help us."

As if on cue, the gate was blown to pieces, and on the other side stood a strange man. There were two things that stood out to the Sandaime:

1: He didn't show any skin. He wore a plain black cloak, and a straw hat, like Akatsuki, his hands were gloved, His feet were covered with boots, and the part of his face that could be seen, was covered with a face mask.

2. He was carrying a book. That wouldn't be too bad, if it didn't creep him out just by staring at it.

"What took you so long?" Asked the man.

"I just wanted to take my time, what with the host of the three-tailed beast passing by, carrying the host of the nine-tailed beast to his home." Answered the third stranger. "Well, enough talk, let's get moving."

"Wait a minute!" Demanded the former Mizukage. "Tell me who you are!"

"What great manners you have," Said the third stranger. "I am. . ."

The group left the village, keeping an eye out for Tribals. However, this time, the swamp felt. . . empty.

"Ah, there you are."

The group moved into a defensive stance as a man walked up, wearing a black cloak. His right hand had a metal gauntlet on it.

"You evaded me for a long time Yagura." Said the man.

"What do you want with me?" Yagura asked.

"To help you and your friend in the orange jumpsuit." Answered the man.

"Me?" Naruto asked.

"You see, I work for a man who had heard about the Jinchurikis and their hardships. He heard about how the lives they live are horrible. How they are hated for their prisoners. How they want to be loved, to have friends, to be seen as a person. He hired me to find the Jinchurikis and bring them to him so that they can gain what they want: Recognition! Respect! I can help you make them a reality!" The man explained.

"Well, hate to break it you, but most of the hosts have been captured by Akatsuki." Said Ao.

"Well of course they have to go to Akatsuki to get their Tailed-Beasts removed, I don't want any trouble when I turn you into sculptures."

"Sculptures?" Tenten repeated. "You heartless monster!"

"You flatter me." Said the man. "But I'm a busy man. Get him!"

"Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"

"Duck!" Yagura shouted. The group ducked as a fireball flew over them, hitting a tree and exploding, releasing more fireballs that landed around the explosion.

"Oh by the way, I brought friends." Said the man as the Sandaime Mizukage walked up.

"Who's he?" Asked Kiba.

"My predecessor." Yagura answered.

"You'll pay for humiliating me!" Shouted the Sandaime as a man with a creepy book entered the battlefield.

"When are you gonna tell him?" Asked Tsunade.

"When he gets back." Answered the Godaime, tears falling from her eyes. "How is he?"

"He has become a strong, powerful ninja." Answered Tsunade.

A smile crept onto the Mizukage's face.

The battle raged on, as Naruto and Kiba fought the man with the book, Sakura, Tenten and Yagura fighting the Sandaime, and Ao fighting the man who we shall call for now 'The Collector.'

"Come on, is that the best you've got?" Said the man with the book. Naruto attempted to kick him in the face, only for the man to teleport away.

"Stop trying to hit me, hit me!" Kiba eagerly responded and tried to punch him, but the man teleported away. Akamaru ran at the man and pounced, but the man teleported again.

Ao punched the Collector again.

"I should have brought a sword." Said the Collector, throwing a punch at Ao, only for the eyepatch-wearing man to block it and deliver more punches to the Collector. Stumbling back, the man added, "I'm not the best at hand to hand."

Throwing another punch at the man and seeing him shrug it off, Ao activated his Byakugan.

The Sandaime Mizukage had a very. . . unorthodox fighting style. Most of the time, he seemed to run around, summoning Fire Clones and the occasional Exploding Clone. The Fire Clones had the routine of screaming and bursting into flame, and then charge at the group. The Exploding Clone was twitchy clone who charged and, well, exploded. And these were usually a distraction for:

"Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"

"Katon: Fire Kick!"

"Katon: Fire Punch!"

"Katon: Firestorm Jutsu!"

Taking down another Fire Clone, Tenten pulled out another kunai. Nearby she saw Sakura leap away from the Sandaime as he performed another Firestorm Jutsu, which involved the area around the Sandaime bursting into flame. Leaping out of the flames, the Sandaime focused his Tenten and quickly uttered:

"Katon: Fire Kick!"

But as his fire-enhanced kick headed for the weapons user, Yagura countered with:

"Suiton: Great Waterfall Jutsu!"

The blast of water hit the Sandaime, interrupting his attack and sending him falling.

_Beep Beep Beep_-

The man with the book stopped, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone.

"Well, I gotta go," Said the man. "I have business to take care of." Teleporting far away from the fight, he answered the call.

"Hello? So, has he finally- Where? I'll deal with it. I know."

As soon as the call ended, he reached for the book and uttered a few words in a strange language. Within seconds, a small army of Tribals ran up to him. He pointed to the battle, where Naruto and Kiba have joined the fight against the Sandaime.

"Capture the one in orange and the one in black and green, and don't harm the one in the black cloak." Said the man. "Everyone else, is fair game."

The Sandaime backed away from the group. He was now outnumbered, and had spent most of his chakra. He needed to make an escape otherwise-

"Duck!"

A spear landed in front him. To his right, was Sakura, whom the spear nearly went through. And behind her, were some Tribals, and behind _them,_ was an _army of Tribals._

"Katon: Fire Wall Jutsu!" The Sandaime shouted, putting a wall of fire between him and the group, and then running as fast as he could.

The group, not wanting to get skewered, started running back to the entrance. However, at every bush, there seemed to be a Tribal leaping out and grabbing someone, thus slowing down the group with the need to pull the Tribal off. And of course, when they reached the entrance, they ran into another problem that was created near the beginning of this chapter.

"The gate's broken!" Shouted Sakura.

"We can't fix it in time!" Yelled Ao.

"Well we can't allow them to run free!"

"I have an idea!" Said Yagura. "Follow me!"

The group ran after Yagura as he headed through the swamp, towards the ocean.

"Are they still following us?" He asked.

Naruto looked back and saw the Tribals still following, and shouting.

"Yes." He answered.

"Good." Said Yagura.

"Why is that?" Naruto asked.

"You'll see."

They reached a beach with tons of fallen trees. Yagura pointed to some bushes and intact trees.

"Over there! Hide!" He shouted. As they hid, some bubbles rose up from the water. The Tribals ran onto the beach, still shouting, waking up a giant turtle. It was as big as the Sanbi, with red skin and a spiked shell. Seeing the large meal before it, the turtle crawled onto land, jaws open. The Tribals, on the other hand, fled the area.

"What was that?" Naruto asked as the turtle gave chase to the Tribals.

"Big turtle." Said Yagura casually. "First time I came here, I nearly got eaten by it. Anyway, didn't you say something about heading back to Kiri?"

**Finally got this chapter done. The ending might not be good, but I felt like I was taking too long, and wanted to move on.**

**The next chapter shall be about. . . revelations.**


	11. Revelations

**Chapter 11: Revelations.**

"Kaa-san!"

Yagura rushed up to his successor and hugged her.

"The Godaime is your mother?" Asked Naruto.

"Yes she is." Yagura answered. Looking at the Mizukage, he said, "Now then, I need to know what had happened since I left."

The Mizukage explained what happened since Yagura left, though once the other left, leaving only the two Kages, Yagura stopped her.

"That kid in orange, Naruto," He said as he lowered his voice. "His last name's Uzumaki. Is he-"

"Yes." Said the Mizukage. "I'll tell him."

"Hinata."

Turning around, she saw Naruto standing in the doorway.

"Naruto-kun, you're back from the mission?" She asked. Naruto didn't reply, instead thinking of the vision in the swamp.

"_Probably disappointed that you came back though."_

"_Eh, you'll come back to me soon."_

"_Blech. If my kid looked like that, I'd abandon it too."_

"_Like they would make you Hokage."_

"Naruto-kun? Are you okay?" Hinata asked. In one swift motion, Naruto had pulled Hinata into a hug.

"Thank you." He whispered.

And then he kissed her. Her eyes widened in surprise as he did it, and then closed them as she wrapped her arms around him. Soon, their lips parted, and Hinata looked at Naruto. Tears were running down his cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" She asked.

"I don't know how long you've waited for me to love you back," Said Naruto, his voice quivering and barely above a whisper. "But I did not want to wait until it was too late."

Hinata smiled and rested her head on Naruto's shoulder.

"Thank you Naruto-kun." She whispered.

Unfortunately, the happy moment had to end when Naruto was summoned to the Mizukage's office. When he entered, the Mizukage was sitting in her chair. Yagura was leaning on the wall, arms crossed.

"Naruto," Said the Mizukage. With the way she was speaking, it sounded like a hard topic. "Have you ever wondered about your parents?"

Naruto frowned. For most of his life, he thought his parents died fighting the Kyuubi no Yoko. And while it was true with his father, Minato Namikaze, it did make him wonder what happened to his mother, especially after the vision in the swamp.

"Yes." He answered.

"And being a jinchuriki, you've wished for parents, right?" The Mizukage asked.

Naruto nodded. "I've wondered about them."

The Mizukage took a deep breath. "Well-"

"-finally found it." Came a voice from outside the office.

"The secretary would have told you if you asked, like the other villages." Came another voice.

Suddenly, the doors burst open, and Emperor Transbaal walked in, his six bodyguards behind him. Naruto found himself shoved to the side as the Emperor walked right up to the desk.

"Beat it kids, the grown ups are talking now." Emperor told Naruto and Yagura.

"I was talking to her first!" Argued Naruto.

"Well this is grown up matters, now run along." The Emperor replied.

Naruto was going to respond when the Mizukage spoke up first.

"Just leave Naruto, you don't wanna anger him." She said. Naruto looked at her for a second, then nodded and walked away with Yagura.

"Good, now onto important matters." Said Emperor Transbaal. "I demand that you make the vending machines take my money."

"_He's_ the leader of the alliance?" Naruto repeated.

"Well, that's what Kaa-san told me." Yagura answered.

It was silent for a few moments as they continued to walk.

"Say Yagura, did she ever mention my parents?" Naruto asked.

"She doesn't talk about her past." Yagura answered.

"Why?"

"Years ago, she lived in another village. It got attacked and she lost her husband and newborn son to it."

"Oh." Said Naruto, feeling ashamed for asking, when he realized something. "How-"

"One time while I was training, I got badly injured. Kaa-san was worried sick. She told me why that night."

Naruto remained silent as he absorbed the information. It must have been very hard on her to have lost her family.

"So, you want to grab something to eat?" Yagura asked.

"Sure! Do you have any ramen?"

"No, but I think there's a stand nearby."

Five minutes later. . .

"I'm amazed the village is running as smooth as your predecessor." Said the Emperor.

"Yes, it's a miracle." The Mizukage said in a monotone voice.

"Now then, I have to speak to the Hokage." Said the Emperor, getting up and leaving. As soon as the last bodyguard left, closing the door, the Mizukage slammed her hands on her desk and screamed. How long would she have to put up with that sexist jerk?

Once she calmed down, she sent for Naruto and Yagura and then waited. It didn't take too long, and the two boys entered.

"You were saying something about my parents?" Naruto asked. The Mizukage nodded.

"Take a seat." She said. Both boys sat down. "Yagura, do you remember what I told you that day in the hospital?" Yagura nodded. "I will tell you the whole story."

Activating the seals that made the office soundproof, she started.

"I started as a kunoichi from the Land of Whirlpool. However, by the time I became a Genin, a civil war broke out between the Ninja Village and the Daimyo's army. However, the Third Great Shinobi War started soon after, and some of the greater villages intervened. Konoha helped us, while Iwa aided the Daimyo. The Fighting got so bad, that the country was destroyed. One of the Konoha Shinobi offered to take me back to Konoha, where we eventually fell in love, and, after the war, gotten married. But then, fifteen years ago, the Kyuubi no Yoko attacked. My child was just born, but my husband took him so that he could seal the demon into him. Eventually, the Kyuubi's attack stopped, and Konoha suffered massive losses, including my husband and my son. Or so I thought."

"No."

Yagura blinked when the Mizukage finished, and his pink eyes darted to Naruto. He was pale, breathing hard, and shaking his head.

"No." He said again.

"Kaa-san, are you saying-"

"Yes." Kushina answered. She then looked at Naruto. "I'm your mother."

**Man, I took a long time to finish this chapter.**

**I know that the Fifth's true name has been revealed, but I will solve that problem.**


	12. Missing Mother Found

**Chapter 12: A Missing Mother Found.**

"Liar!" Naruto shouted, tears now welling up in his eyes. "You can't be my mom!"

Kushina winced. "Naruto, I know this is hard to take in, but I am-"

"If you are my mom, then why was I put in an orphanage?" Naruto demanded. "Why did I start the Academy at 4? Why did I get beat up by a mob of drunken villagers on my fifth birthday? Why did I have to live in a run down apartment all by myself? Why didn't I ever go on a picnic, or get tucked into bed, or, or. . ." The sentence wasn't finished, as Naruto broke down crying.

"I'm sorry Naruto." Kushina said in a sad voice. "I wish was there for you, but after the Kyuubi's attack, Konoha was in chaos, and I was stuck in a hospital room, wondering what happened to you. . ."

FLASHBACK

She was angry, to say the least. She was worried about Naruto, and why nobody had brought him back to her. She was angry, because she was left in the dark about what's happening outside, and that she's stuck in the hospital, and no doctor has seen her yet.

Kushina hoped that Naruto would be returned to her soon, and that would be released. She would take him to the Namikaze Estate, to the room she and Minato had prepared for him. She imagined Naruto in his crib, asleep under his sheets, clutching a teddy bear. She imagined taking him to the park, where he would play with the other children. She imagined seeing him off to the Academy, then later see him with his hitai-ate once he graduated.

It was two hours after Minato had taken Naruto and bid his goodbyes did a doctor finally check up on her.

"Doctor, where's my baby?" Kushina demanded.

"Your baby?" He asked.

"Yes, where is Naruto, I want to see him!"

"I'm sorry, but your baby is dead." He stated.

Kushina felt her heart shatter. Her husband was dead, and so was Naruto. She could not stay in Konoha. The memories would haunt her until she died.

A few minutes later, she had her clothes on, and left Konohagure no Sato.

FLASHBACK END

". . .I was so heartbroken, I just could not stay." Kushina finished.

Yagura looked at Naruto. He read all about Minato Namikaze, The Yellow Flash and how much the village loved him. And yet, he was looking at the son of this hero, who was even the splitting image of him, and yet people hated him so much that they would lie to keep his mother out of his life. Hell, one of the initial reasons Yagura was made Yondaime Mizukage was to be a puppet and a scapegoat.

Kushina stood up.

"Naruto?" She asked, walking up to him and kneeling down.

Naruto was still crying.

"Do you want a hug?" She asked. Naruto nodded, and Kushina wrapped her arms around him.

"Shhh, it's okay Naruto." She whispered. "I'm here for you now."

"I'll inform the Hokage that this might take a while." Said Yagura, getting up from his seat.

"You should do that." Said Kushina.

The first thing Yagura noticed when he stepped into Tsunade's room, was the end table in pieces.

Near the door.

"I'm guessing Emperor Transbaal was here?"

Tsunade nodded, before asking, "Did Kushina tell Naruto-"

Yagura nodded.

"How is Naruto taking it?"

"Not well." Yagura answered.

"I thought so." Said Tsunade. "I was surprised when I saw her at the Kage Summit. The hospital records in Konoha said that she died in childbirth."

It was quiet for a few moments. Then, an idea popped into Yagura's head.

"So, what can you tell me about Naruto?"

When he had calmed down, Naruto was able to learn about his mother. Things like how she changed her name to Mei Terumii. And then, three years after she left Konoha, she was selected, along with many other Jonin and Hunter-nin, to seal the Sanbi no Kyodaigame into a newborn child. Though the mission was a success. . .

FLASHBACK

"And his parents?" The Sandaime Mizukage asked. Standing before him were the elders, and the remaining members of the team to seal the Sanbi.

"They didn't make it." Said one of the surviving Jonin. "His father was caught in the demon's jaws, and thrown into a rock. His mother got hit by its tail, and fell into the ocean. We did all we could to save her."

"I see."

"So what should we do with the child?" Another Jonin asked. She was holding a sleeping Yagura.

"Same thing we're doing with Utakata." The Mizukage answered.

Kushina looked at Yagura. What they were doing with Utakata was that, as soon as he reached the age to join the Academy, he would be put into 'Jinchuuriki Training' instead. And one of the things that she heard that they did with Utakata, the host of the Rokubi no Namekuji, was that they would throw him into areas where the civil war was strong, or into an area packed with civilians, who form a mob and attack the boy, just to see what he would do. Of course, that was something that Kushina wondered was actually training, or just something that the Sandaime did for amusement, like many other things. When Kushina talked to Utakata once, he was very. . . cold, and couldn't trust anyone. While that was normal for experienced Jonin, Utakata was just a young child. To think of Yagura like that, his pink eyes cold and serious, disturbed her. Especially how he reminded her of Naruto-

"I'll take Yagura." Said Kushina. All eyes focused on her.

"And why do you want him Mei?" The Sandaime asked.

"I've always wanted to have a child, but-" Kushina did not want to finish that sentence.

"Well too bad, because-"

A grunt came from one of the Elders. The Sandaime sighed and pulled out some forms.

"Fine, sign these."

FLASHBACK END

The Sandaime, at the time, had some of his powers suspended by the Daimyo to investigate the claims of him having ties to Orochimaru and that he was sending ninja to him for his experiments (A statement that would become true when years later a package was sent to the Daimyo containing the Sandaime's letters to Orochimaru). As a joke possibly, he had Yagura as his successor, and continued his work in the shadows. While he was too young to rule, the elders took this chance to remove many of the Sandaime's cruel punishments and orders, although they could not quell the civil war. This lasted until after the Kaguya clan attack, when Yagura had hunted down the former Sandaime and defeated him in battle, telling him to never return to Kiri, proving he would be right for the Mizukage. For many years, things looked better, and then a hooded man in a mask came along, and Yagura began acting differently. But by the time the figured out that he was being mind controlled and broke it, the hooded man escaped, and Yagura was unsure of leading, and left Kushina in charge. To make matters worse, Utakata, now more humanized by Kushina and Yagura's efforts, went to search for him, only to get captured by Akatsuki.

Naruto told her about his life, starting from the orphanage, where he was shunned by the other kids, to joining the Academy and getting picked on by the other kids for being younger than they were, not being taught reading, or being sent away for story time. And then, he moved onto his fifth birthday. . .

FLASHBACK

Five-year old Naruto was walking down the streets of Konoha, trying to remember where he lived. The orphanage kicked him out today, saying that he was old enough to look out for himself, and gave him keys to his own apartment and wrote down his address. Of course, they never bothered to show him where it was, and, as said above, 'was not taught how to read'. As he walked, he noticed people glaring at him and whispering things to one another. He tried asking one of the villagers to help him, they just shooed him away.

Even later, into the night, he still did not know where his home was. He was still wandering around when he heard-

"You."

Naruto turned to the voice. It was a man, he was slightly swaying, with a bottle in his hand. Behind were a four more drunks.

"You took mah bestest friend." The man slurred, staggering towards Naruto. Confused, Naruto replied, "But I didn't-"

SMASH!

"Shut up!" Shouted the man, throwing his bottle at Naruto, though, being drunk, he missed. Not caring the man staggered towards the blonde, his friends following.

"You hurt mah friends, n' village, n' other people."

Naruto turned around to run away-

SMASH!

Unlike the first bottle, this one hit him in the back, causing him to collapse to the ground. The first drunk got to him, and started punching him, followed by his friends.

For two minutes, Naruto was beaten up when he heard-

"Get away from him!"

The drunks stopped, moving away from Naruto. Naruto looked up to see some men in black and white clothes, wearing masks with different animals on it, and the Hokage.

Naruto knew who he was because he saw him visit the orphanage a few times. He walked up to Naruto, knelt down and picked him up.

"Don't worry Naruto, it's alright." He said.

And at that moment, Naruto decided that he would become Hokage.

A year later, the five men who attacked Naruto got hit by stink bombs, smelling like something died.

The stench lasted for a week.

FLASHBACK OVER

Kushina was relieved to know that Sarutobi helped Naruto, and that the incident never happened again. Naruto explained how the next year, he met Kiba and got into pranking. But as he started talking about how he became a Genin, there was a knock on the door.

Kushina opened the door see Yagura.

"The Emperor has a mission for us."

**Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!**

**Canon Naruto was ignored when he was younger. Fanon Naruto is sold low quality equipment and expired food at high prices, is the target of a witch-hunt every birthday, gets beaten everyday, gets sabotaged in the Academy, so on and so forth. I've decided to do a fusion of the two pasts for this fic, where he was, on top of it all, just ignored by the villagers, but a few would try to do whatever they could to him without it getting noticed by the Hokage, or something that would seem suspicious to the younger generations (Hey even though mommy and daddy told them to stay away from Naruto, they would eventually find it fishy that the grown-ups are picking on him constantly.) I want to do this for two reasons:**

**1. In most Fics, Fanon Naruto's past makes Sarutobi look rather neglectful. I mean, your successor, Minato Namikaze, the hero of the Third Great Shinobi War, student of your student, Jiraiya the Toad Sage, is dead, and so is his wife, and the only thing he asks is that Naruto be seen as a hero for holding back the Kyuubi. Sure, you can't force the village to do that, but how can you sleep, knowing that the villagers are attacking and abusing Naruto in various cruel ways that are making Minato roll around in his grave.**

**2. I want the Civilian Council to be the biggest source of Naruto's suffering. How they did it will be answered when they finally return to Konoha.**

**I want to thank Inumiru for giving me the idea that the Mizukage is Kushina.**

**And now, a little rant. . .**

**I am not too happy about what's happening in the official manga. First off, what happened with Sakura. When she went up to Naruto at the end of 469, telling him "We need to talk." I hoped that 470 would have her try to convince Naruto to give up his promise to Sasuke, and his crush on her. Instead, we get Sakura telling Naruto that she loves him back, and I can't help but think that off panel, she shouted out 'I love you!' before giving her reasons on screen. And Naruto. . . FAINTING?**

**There, I'm done.**


End file.
